Leonardtown Attorney, Wife, Indicted
The following press release was issued by the St. Mary's Sheriff's Dept:
04/20/04, two arrests were made in cases involving theft, embezzlement, and forgery. Joseph Ashworth, a Leonardtown Attorney, and his wife Melinda Rossignol-Ashworth were each arrested on a sixteen count indictment for various theft, forgery, and embezzlement charges. Melinda Ashworth is a paralegal who works in Joseph Ashworth's firm. An investigation conducted by the St. Mary's County Bureau of Criminal Investigations revealed that the Ashworth’s received a settlement check for a client. The Ashworth’s, without the knowledge or consent of their client deposited the check into an account, and began using the funds.
On a second and separate warrant, Joseph Ashworth was arrested for the charge of extortion. Two clients came to see Mr. Ashworth in reference to a workman’s compensation claim. Mr. Ashworth sent letters to a prominent Lexington Park Doctor demanding payment, or Mr. Ashworth would expose the doctor to a list of purported crimes. Allegations made against the doctor were investigated by the St. Mary's County Bureau of Criminal Investigations and were found to be false.
The Suspects were taken to the St. Mary's County Detention Center where they were held without bail until a bond review could be held in the Circuit Court.

Attorney Says Any Charge of Extortion is Ridiculous
ANNAPOLIS ---  Joel Katz, attorney for Joe Ashworth, told ST. MARY'S TODAY in a meeting in March, that if St. Mary's States Attorney Richard Fritz were to indict his client for extortion for sending a demand letter to a Lexington Park dentist, then he would consider the matter an outrageous abuse of prosecutorial powers.  Katz said any lawyer in the nation sends demand letters as a normal course of business and in no way, shape or form has his client or his wife done anything wrong and he expects his clients to be vindicated.